Mothers whose babies are hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit examination of breastfeeding self efficacy and mother-infant attachment levels

Aim: The study was conducted to examine breastfeeding self efficacy and mother-infant attachment levels of mothers whose babies were hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit. Material and Method: The population of the cross-sectional and descriptive study consisted of mothers whose babies were hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Training and Research Hospital serving in Erzincan province. The sample of the study consisted of 152 mothers who were in the neonatal intensive care unit between September 2022 and July 2023 and met the inclusion criteria. "Personal Information Form", "Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale Short Form" and "Mother-Infant Attachment Scale" were used to collect the data. Descriptive statistics, t-test and ANOVA analysis were used for variables with normal distribution, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis H tests were used for variables where normal distribution conditions were not met, and Pearson Correlation analysis was used to examine the relationships between variables. Results: It was determined that 55.3% of the mothers who participated in the study were 29 years of age or younger, 44.8% had primary education and 90.8% were not working. The mean scores of the mothers were 61.7±7.5 on the "Breastfeeding Self Efficacy Scale" and 3.3±2.1 on the "Mother-Infant Attachment Scale". There was a negative and statistically significant relationship between breastfeeding self efficacy and mother-infant attachment scale scores (p< 0.05). Conclusion: As a result of the study, it was concluded that as the mothers' breastfeeding self-efficacy level increased, their mother-infant attachment levels also increased. The effects of breastfeeding self-efficacy and mother-infant attachment levels of mothers whose babies are hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit on each other can be examined and the counseling, education and support needs of mothers can be determined.